Proximal Ventures Closes $27.5M Debut Fund

The San Francisco firm's first fund exceeded its $25 million target and will back pre-seed and seed life sciences startups.

Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Healthcare

Photograph of a row of mid-rise brick and stucco commercial buildings climbing a steep San Francisco street in soft morning fog. — Proximal Ventures closed its debut fund at $27.5 million on Tuesday, exceeding its $25 million target to back pre-seed and seed AI-driven life sciences startups. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Proximal Ventures closed its debut fund at $27.5 million, above its initial target of $25 million. The fund will invest in pre-seed and seed companies building AI-native infrastructure across the life sciences value chain.

Why it matters

The fund adds early-stage capital focused on AI-driven life sciences companies at a time when founders often need help before incorporation. Its backers include multi-stage and healthcare investors, which may help portfolio companies reach later rounds.

Proximal closed Fund I at $27.5 million, $2.5 million above its $25 million initial target. The announcement did not specify how many companies the fund will back or how capital will be allocated across them.

The players

Proximal Ventures

A San Francisco venture firm founded in 2026 that invests in pre-seed and seed life sciences companies and provides founder advisory support.

Sahir Raoof

The founder of Proximal Ventures, who launched the firm in 2026 to back early-stage AI-driven life sciences startups.

Kleiner Perkins

A long-established Silicon Valley venture capital firm that is one of the backers of Proximal Ventures' debut fund.

The details

Proximal helps founders validate ideas, refine go-to-market strategy, and connect with pharma executives, design partners, and customers, often before a company is incorporated. The fund is backed by Domino Lane, SignalFire, Kleiner Perkins, Bertelsmann Healthcare Investments, and PagsGroup, and individual investors include Dimension co-founders Nan Li and Zavain Dar.

2026: Sahir Raoof founded Proximal Ventures.
November 10, 2026: Proximal announced the close of its debut fund.

Market Landscape

Early-stage life sciences funding has drawn established firms such as Kleiner Perkins, which now sit alongside newer funds like Proximal in backing startups before they reach later rounds. Proximal's focus on AI-native infrastructure places it within a growing cohort of seed investors betting on that intersection.

For founders in San Francisco's life sciences sector, the fund offers an additional source of pre-incorporation support and introductions to pharma executives and design partners. The announcement does not indicate direct changes to pricing, product availability, or access for consumers.

The takeaway

Founders building early-stage life sciences companies can seek validation and partner introductions before incorporating, which may shorten the path to their first institutional round. Investors watching the sector may note that seed capital is increasingly tied to AI-native infrastructure.